Special tips, inspirational thoughts, and useful resources from a School Psychologist

Yearly Archives: 2016

Kindness, empathy, acceptance: things we expect students to know and understand, yet we don’t always take the time to teach. At one of my schools there is a multicultural committee, which has taken on an initiative this school year to promote kindness every day in school in a creative way. They have challenged the students, staff, parents, and families to 180 days of kindness. Here is an introduction:

“There are 180 days of school each year and we are challenging you to be kind each and every day. Each day you will learn about a new way to be kind, you will learn about different customs from around the world, and/or you will learn something new each day about how to be kind. How to be kind to yourself, how to be kind to others, and even how to be kind to our world. WE hope that you take us up on our challenge and tht by the end of our 180 days together, this school and community will be the kindest ever! Some days it may be easy, some days could be a bit more challenging, but either way, it is so worth it–love and kindness need to win! So, let’s begin….”

Power point slides are shared so that teachers can promote it in their classes and handouts are sent home for parents to promote at home. Here are a few of my personal favorites…

Day 2: Make new Friends— There is a Jewish sayig that says, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold.” A good way to make a new friend is by smiling at someone and saying, “My name is ___. What is yours?” Then, you can look for similarities between you.

Day 6: Dance for Joy— The continent of Africa practically shakes form the rhythm of dancing feet! The Ga people of Ghana dance during a month-long festival called Homowo (how-MOH-woh_. Long ago, the Ga suffered from hunger during a famine. The following year when the harvest was in, they recalled the hard times by mocking them with dance. Who knows, maybe dance can help people get over rough spots! Try dancing to let off steam when you’re angry, or to relax before you have something difficult to do. And, when the worst is over, you can dance for joy!Continue reading →

This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week and I want to recognize those who have one of the most important jobs in the world. In my opinion, it’s 2nd in importance to parenting. If you are a teacher, thank you! Thank you for the time you invest to make sure your students learn. Thank you for making sure the distracted student doesn’t sit next to the talker. Thank you for the extra hours you spend making sure your lessons are prepared and your students will be engaged. Thank you for spending money you probably can’t afford to buy supplies your students need or classroom materials to make your lessons interesting. Thank you for teaching the students with special needs and the ones who challenge you every day. They need to know you care and that you believe in them. Thank you for all you do!
If you are a parent, guardian, or student yourself, make sure to let teachers know you appreciate them. Not only this week but every opportunity you get.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Like this:

I’ve seen this idea posted on social media sites as the new year approached and I really like it! If you’re not familiar with it, the idea is to have a jar at home and when you have a good memory, you jot it down on a note and drop it in the jar. Then, at the end of the year as you are bringing in the new year, you read all the notes in the jar to reflect on the memories your family created. When I saw this, I thought it was a porject worthy of trying, but then I thought about how parents could use a variation of this idea for their children, especially if they are struggling learners.

I am a Sassy Southern Gal living in the Midwest. Come along on my journey and we'll share some stories and fun. You'll soon see why I am a SassySouthernGal! Disclaimer: “The content in this posting are my own personal opinions and not the opinions or policies of the National Down Syndrome Society”. !